Chicken Waterer Troubleshooting

"Help!  My chickens can't figure out the Avian Aqua Miser.  What should I do?"

I've discovered that while 98% of chickens catch on right away, a few flocks need some extra help learning to drink out of the Avian Aqua Miser the first time.  Here are some tips to hellp you out if you're in the other 2%:

First, make sure that you follow the introduction instructions to the letter.  Take out the previous waterer the night before and leave the birds without water overnight.  (This won't hurt your birds since they don't drink at night anyway.)  Then put in the Avian Aqua Miser when they're thirsty in the morning.  Read over our general FAQ page for more information, or read the extensive instructions file which comes on a CD with your order.

You might want to hang the Avian Aqua Miser a little lower than I tell you to in the instructions for the first day.  Make sure your chickens can actually see it, even if that means they bump into it.  You can always raise it up later once they learn.

On the other hand, don't hang your waterer too low.  You don't want your chickens to have to crouch to go under it.

If they don't catch on right away, start tapping the nipple with your finger so that water drips out onto the ground.  Your chickens should be thirsty and looking for water, so they'll find this drip and know water is nearby.  Keep up your poking and they should find the nipple since they're attracted to the color red.  If one bird, especially your lead bird, catches on, they'll all follow suit.

You can also pour a container of water slowly over the top of the waterer.  It'll spread out down the sides and then drip from the nipple, attracting the chickens to that point.  When you stop pouring, they should keep drinking from the nipple.

If your chickens just aren't getting it and you have to leave them alone for the day, go ahead and take the Avian Aqua Miser out and put their old waterer back in.  Then try again the next day (repeating all of the steps above), but be sure to put fresh water in the Avian Aqua Miser!  Chickens are very good at telling the difference between old, stale water and fresh water.

Another trick you can try if you live in a very hot location is to put ice cubes in the water in your Avian Aqua Miser.  Chickens love cold water on a hot summer day and catch on pretty fast about where to get it!

Finally, if you bought a do it yourself kit, make sure that you drilled a hole in the lid of the waterer.  If you didn't, the waterer will create a suction and your birds will be unable to drink.


Returns:

I hope those tips work out for you.  If they don't, or if you just get impatient and don't want to mess with it anymore, we have a no-questions-asked return policy.  Just drop me an email and then mail your waterer back to Anna Hess, P.O. Box 404, Dungannon, VA 24245.  We appreciate your patience!